The 2012 KSP One Eye Kite Surf Pro came to an end last weekend in Le Morne, Mauritius, but not without an epic day of finals and a few interesting surprises along the way! And since the event was such a huge success, here’s our take on the competition, and One Eye as a first class wave riding destination in general.
Hopefully you followed the action via the daily live broadcasts, but if you missed it, don’t worry, we have you covered. We’ve got all the daily updates from One Eye, a selection of the best images and videos from each of the 10 days, interviews with the riders and organizers, and the final results, all in one place, here. We’ve even included navigation so you can jump to specific days. If you haven’t seen it yet, head on over there now, and while you’re there, please share it with your friends if you like what we’ve done.
For those of you who want the short version, here’s a brief account of the event, and some of the highlights that stood out for us.
One Eye, Le Morne, Mauritius, delivered once more for the KSP tour in its second year of running, putting this amazing island reef break back on the lips of kiters around the world. Mauritius tourism officially got behind the event this time, welcoming the environmentally friendly sport of kitesurfing, which is in line with their marketing of the island nation.
This year it was not so much the spot that was the talk, but more the upsets that were delivered in the competition. The event kicked off in some wild conditions adding an extra edge to the already challenging reef, with the usual suspects making it through the early rounds.
Then Jalou Langeree went up against Ines Correia and Kirsty Jones to eventually make it to the final, but once again the local Ninja Bichler would be there to keep the tour riders on their toes. Patri Mclaughlin was up against Mitu Monteiro, with Patri being defeated only to make a comeback to win the event in a final against last year’s One Eye Pro winner and reigning KSP world champion, Airton Cozzolino.
Standout of the men’s was definitely young South African Luke McGillewie who would end up fourth overall. Luke defeated the legendary Mitu Montiero in a heat where Luke was nothing short of clinical in his contest approach, displaying some big impressive turns.
With only three heats to get through, the event was put on hold for better conditions, with the island being fully enjoyed to pass the time. As it turns out, Mauritius has a lot more to offer than just epic reef breaks, pristine white beaches and crystal clear waters… Sea Kart action was one such activity that gave the KSP riders a well deserved break from the challenging conditions One Eye had been dishing out on the first three days. Here’s the video.
The finals were held in perfect contest conditions with the winner in the men’s not being predictable until the last wave. The ladies final showed that the KSP is truly a surf contest where wave knowledge is paramount when Ninja kept her title by beating Jalou.
Finals Highlights Video
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If anything was learnt from this year’s event it was that kite surfing good waves that break properly will be the one ingredient that will help prepare for a spot like One Eye, where for most part the wind has very little affect on the wave quality. Finding such places in your own backyard and not settling for slop is what’s needed to stay in the game, if not then just going out on windless days to get some paddle in training.
Mauritius is one of those magical paradise locations which is worth more than just a kite surf trip. It’s somewhere that you want to spend some good time, to soak it all in, re-evaluate and then make the necessary adjustments before you return to the mundane. Best practice, is to bring a bit of the island life home with you.
Stay tuned for our daily coverage of the next KSP World Tour event. Stop number 3, the Aer Lingus Kite Surf Pro will be playing off on the West Coast of Ireland. Here’s the tour schedule.
In closing, we have to commend the KSP and event organizers for pulling off a well organized competition and for adhering to the high competition standards they have set for the tour. We were also very impressed with the quality of the edited daily highlight videos. We highly recommend you watch these videos, which you can find by navigating to the end of each day here.
As always we’d love to hear your thoughts on the competition and the entire tour in the comments below.
Images courtesy of the KSP World Tour.
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